Journal

Dr. Prince T. Woods' experimental open-front poultry house at Topsfield, Massachusetts, 1908, with its wire-covered south front
What Is a Fresh-Air Chicken Coop? The 1912 Open-Front Design Explained
How the open-front "fresh-air" coop keeps hens dry through hard winters: Dr. Prince T. Woods’ 1912 rules on depth, wire fronts, roost placement and house sizes. Read more...
Six Fall & Halloween Builds from Old Farm Plans
Six Fall & Halloween Builds from Old Farm Plans
Six fall and Halloween builds from restored USDA farm plans: a trick-or-treat station, pumpkin stand, porch crates, apple-bobbing trough and more. Read more...
How to Store Apples and Root Vegetables in Wooden Bins
How to Store Apples and Root Vegetables in Wooden Bins
Store apples, potatoes and carrots in wooden bins: temperature and humidity by crop, bin size and depth, airflow, stacking, and what to keep apart. Read more...
Portable or Permanent? Choosing Shelters for Pigs, Poultry and Sheep
Portable or Permanent? Choosing Shelters for Pigs, Poultry and Sheep
When a skid-mounted shelter beats a fixed barn for pigs, poultry and sheep: space per animal, how often to move, how to tow it, and pasture rotation tips. Read more...
How to Measure and Cut Lumber Accurately: A First-Build Guide
How to Measure and Cut Lumber Accurately: A First-Build Guide
Measure, mark and cut lumber accurately on your first build: actual vs nominal sizes, saw kerf, cut lists, the 3-4-5 squaring trick and how to saw straight. Read more...
Is Pallet Wood Safe for a Raised Garden Bed? Stamps, Liners and Sizing
Is Pallet Wood Safe for a Raised Garden Bed? Stamps, Liners and Sizing
How to read a pallet stamp (HT vs MB), which salvaged wood to keep out of a vegetable bed, when to add a liner, and the right raised bed width... Read more...
How to Winterize a Chicken Coop: Ventilation, Bedding, Water and Heat
How to Winterize a Chicken Coop: Ventilation, Bedding, Water and Heat
Winterize a chicken coop the extension way: high vents without roost drafts, deep dry bedding, unfrozen water, flat roosts and when extra heat makes sense. Read more...
Screws or Nails for Outdoor Projects? Choosing Fasteners for Farm Builds
Screws or Nails for Outdoor Projects? Choosing Fasteners for Farm Builds
When to nail and when to screw on coops, sheds, gates and bins, why ring-shank nails hold, and which coatings survive pressure-treated lumber outdoors. Read more...
How to Keep a Wooden Shed or Coop Off Wet Ground: Skids, Blocks, Posts and Gravel Pads
How to Keep a Wooden Shed or Coop Off Wet Ground: Skids, Blocks, Posts and Gravel Pads
Skids, concrete blocks, posts or a gravel pad: how to lift a small wooden farm building off wet soil, stop rot at the sill, and deal with frost heave. Read more...
Is Pressure-Treated Wood Safe for Raised Beds and Animal Housing?
Is Pressure-Treated Wood Safe for Raised Beds and Animal Housing?
Where modern treated lumber is safe on the farm and in the garden, what UC4A ground-contact means, and where to use untreated wood instead of it. Read more...
What Are USDA Farm Building Plans (and Are They Free)?
What Are USDA Farm Building Plans (and Are They Free)?
Short answer: USDA farm building plans are standardized construction drawings published from roughly the 1940s to the 1980s by the U.S. Department of Agriculture with the land-grant universities' Cooperative Extension... Read more...
Cold Frame, Hotbed or Greenhouse? Choosing a Season Extender
Cold Frame, Hotbed or Greenhouse? Choosing a Season Extender
Short answer: a cold frame is an unheated, glazed box that protects low plants and hardens off seedlings. A hotbed is a cold frame with heat under the soil, so... Read more...
How to Build a Wooden Farm Gate That Won't Sag
How to Build a Wooden Farm Gate That Won't Sag
Short answer: run the diagonal brace from the bottom of the hinge side up to the top of the latch side, so it is pushed (in compression) by the gate's... Read more...
How Big Should a Chicken Coop Be? A Space Guide for 6 to 40 Hens
How Big Should a Chicken Coop Be? A Space Guide for 6 to 40 Hens
Short answer: plan on roughly 3 to 4 square feet of coop floor per standard-size hen if the birds also have an outdoor run, and closer to 10 square feet... Read more...